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a film by Aida Grovestins

Quitte le Pouvoir (Wade, get out!) is a documentary (2014 |46′) with subtle animations. The film follows ‘Y’en a Marre’ (‘We’re Fed Up’), a collective of rappers and journalists from Dakar’s inner city, that join forces to mobilize the Senegalese youth to revolt and register to vote Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade out of power in the 2012 elections. By using animations over the live action footage, the dark atmosphere of the tension hanging over the city is subtly highlighted.

In 2011 Senegal’s President Abdoulaye Wade declares that he will run for a third term in the elections. Knowing full well that the Consitution does not allow it. ‘Y’en a marre’ (Fed Up’) is founded that same year. Using music and door-to-door campaigns, ‘Y’en a marre’ calls upon the youth to engage politically and demonstrate against Wade’s candidacy. They also urge the youth to register and use their voting card as their democratic weapon.

Y’en a marre succeeded to register 300.000 new voters, historically a record number. They have inspired young people from other West-African countries to politically engage in pacifist civil movements, to avoid the violent scenario of the ‘Arab Spring’.

This film is crowdfunded through Cinecrowd, IndieGoGo, and financially supported by The Amsterdam Fund for the Arts (AFK), Webster University Leiden NL/ St.Louis USA

DONATIONS
Thanks to three crowd funding campaigns and a large donation by Webster University we have been able to realise this film.

Want to become a friend of Quitte le Pouvoir?
Donations can still be made to: Stichting A.D.A.P.T. – ‘crowd funding QLP’ Triodos Bank, account nr.: 198542089

Directors statement

Aida Grovestins (director/producer) and Machteld Aardse (artist/producer). The inspiration for “Quitte le Pouvoir” came in 2011 when we were in Senegal doing research on a fascinating old story of resistance of queen-warriors, the Women of Waalo. Storytelling connects us and we wanted to tell and visualize this story through documentary film style and drawn-animations.

THE PRODUCERS / MAKERS:

Aida Grovestins is an independent film maker in Amsterdam and Senegal. After 13 years of journalism for Dutch public current affairs programs, her first documentary film ‘Diamond Dust’ was broadcast by Dutch TV (VPRO) in 2009 and by Belgian TV (CANVAS) in 2010. Under her company name Crossroads DOCS, she makes commissioned films, documentaries and news items. In March 2011, her radio documentary “Nina Kalpeta – Holodomor – Ostarbeiter” was broadcasted by Dutch Radio (VPRO-­Radio-1): ‘a moving portrait of a Ukrainian woman who survived the Great Famine in the Ukraine, only to be sent later by the Nazis as a so-called ‘Ostarbeiter’ (‘labor worker’) to Germany.

Machteld Aardse is an artist in Amsterdam. In her work she uses various media including drawing, video and performance. Aardse: “I’ll go out and look for the confrontation with my subject. The complex relationship between power and powerlessness and different world views with its specific connections and short circuits intrigues me.” After studying art history Machteld Aardse studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy and got her Masters in Art at the Dutch Art Institute. Most of her work is realized in the public domain. She has exhibited at – among others – De Nederlandsche Bank, the New York Island Festival, Museum het Rembrandthuis Amsterdam, Museum Scheltema in Leiden (Netherlands), Women’s Art Festival in Aleppo, Syria.

Stichting DOEN made it possible for the rappers of Y’en a marre to be present at the premiere of the film in the Netherlands
Producers: Aida Grovestins, Machteld Aardse; Trailer editor: Joffrey van der Vliet – Frontdoor